She kept a secret from him.
He’d asked about Iain’s father, whether other kin of his yet lived here or at Tor or one of their other holdings. The only thing she would admit was that even Iain did not know his father’s name. Davidh did not try to force it from her. Mayhap, once they were settled in together, she would confide in him.
Davidh brought his attention back to her now. The priest uttered the words declaring them man and wife and those watching clapped and called out good wishes to them. He leaned over and claimed her mouth in their first married kiss, knowing that the best ones would follow in the privacy of the dark of night.
* * *
The wedding supper seemed to move along at the pace of a slug on the road. Parlan nodded to him and laughed, recognising Davidh’s impatience to get this part over. The laird and lady had arranged for a chamber here in the keep for this night and his body grew tense just thinking about having her to himself for an entire night.
His cock rose, pressing against the cloth of his kilt, as he realised that this would be the first time they had lain together in a bed...well, for the purposes of joining. He remembered little of that lost night, wrapped in grief and her arms, except for the comfort she gave him. And the other times... The other times had been fast and exciting and pleasurable. Once more his flesh pulsed at the memories of her body and being deep, deep inside her.
‘I wonder if it will be the same,’ she whispered to him from her place next to him at table.
‘The same?’
‘Aye. If the element of the forbidden is removed, will it be as much pleasure as those other times?’ she asked. Her voice grew deeper and his body heard her arousal and responded. Then her hand drifted under the table and brushed across his thigh and his very hard member and he fought the need to lift her on to the table and take her.
Had she read his mind? It mattered not, for her own anticipation heightened his and he dearly wished they could be finished with this meal and gone now. Parlan laughed once more and Davidh dared not meet his gaze for fear that he would lean over the table and throttle his knowing friend for his impudence. The laird happened to look over just then and he took pity on his commander. Standing at his chair, he lifted his cup.
‘A toast to Davidh and Anna on their marriage day. May you be as happy as my dear Elizabeth and I have been! Sláinte!’ Robert drank from his cup and then laughed. ‘Now, get ye gone!’
Davidh took Anna’s hand and they stood, accepting all the good wishes and felicitations of their kith and kin. Anna stopped and spoke to the boys for a moment before walking out of the lady’s solar with him. By the time they reached the stairway leading up to the chamber, they were walking faster. He held her hand and they ran up the flight of stairs and into the bedchamber.
Once inside, passion ruled them. He could not remember undressing her or his own garments being removed. He could not remember if there were candles or a fire lit for them. He could not remember if he’d slammed the door behind them. It was only as he filled her with his flesh and heard her cry out that he came to his senses.
But the tightness of her body around his, the way she moaned with each thrust, and the feel of her breasts against his chest and her nether curls rubbing his shaft sent him into the mad oblivion of pleasure. Only when she had tightened around him and then shook as she reached her release did he relent and let his seed spill. It took longer to regain their breaths than it had to claim her. Davidh lifted his head and stared down at her.
‘Did I close the door?’ he asked.
‘Aye,’ she said with a chuckle. ‘The door is closed.’
‘And?’ he asked, hoping she would remember their discussion at the table minutes, or was that only moments, ago.
‘’Twas pleasurable, but a bit quick. Mayhap the next time I will be able to decide.’
‘Is that a challenge, Wife?’ He leaned down and kissed her, his flesh still within her and beginning to rouse.
‘I did not think you feared such a challenge, Husband.’
Davidh eased out of her and then kissed and licked his way down her lovely body. It was the first time he had seen her naked and he followed her curves with his hands, touching all the places he’d rushed over in those two previous times they had lain together. Soon, her indrawn breaths and soft gasps and the way she kept grabbing hold of his head and pressing him lower told him his path.
It took three more times before she relented and admitted that laying together, in a bed, when others knew exactly what they were doing, was indeed just as pleasurable as hasty, hidden joinings in stables and stillrooms.
* * *
As the sun rose the next morning, its light waking them from their exhausted slumber, Anna rose and dressed and suggested they return to his house in the village to see the boys. Davidh knew he’d learned a few more things about his new wife this night.
Oh, aye, she liked bed play. She met him, stroke for stroke, pleasure for pleasure, through that long night and never hesitated in accepting his caresses and kisses or giving her own. That did not surprise him.
The knowledge that did was the soft whisper he heard inside as he watched her worry over their sons. A few words that echoed in his thoughts and trickled into his heart. A heart that had lived with loss and pain and grief for years. A heart he thought had long ago stopped waiting for someone like her.
A woman he could love.
When she walked to the bed and tugged him out of it with promises of fresh bread and thick, warm porridge the way he liked it, he knew the truth.
He loved Anna Mackenzie.
Chapter Twenty-One
Anna paused in the yard and watched the men working there. The sound of Davidh’s voice could be heard over all the shouting and it had the same effect on her whether they were alone or in a crowd. Shivers raced along her spine as he called out to one or another practising under his watchful gaze. But when he called out to her son, her heart almost stopped in fear.
Walking to the fence that surrounded a training yard, she put her basket at her feet and searched for Iain in the small group of men. Anna had to grab hold of the fence post to keep from falling over when she saw her son fighting one of the warriors there.
‘Raise your arm, lad,’ Davidh called out as the older, stronger, bigger man swung his weapon at Iain. ‘Let the targe take the brunt of his strength and protect your head!’
She felt the urge to climb over the fence and stop this madness when someone spoke her name. She turned to find Old Lachlan walking towards her.
‘Can ye help with an injury, mistress?’ the man asked. ‘One of the lads struck his leg instead of the beam.’ He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. ‘Ye would think they would ken the difference by now.’
Torn between protecting her own son and helping another, Anna hesitated for a moment.
‘The lad asked Davidh to train him.’
‘I did not know,’ she said, reaching for her basket.
‘Most lads that age wouldna tell their mams that they want to fight. Better to beg forgiveness in such matters than to ask permission.’ Lachlan laughed then. ‘Davidh is teaching him how to defend himself and will see that no harm comes to the boy.’
‘Aye, I know.’
And she did. She trusted Davidh. She did. But she wished this had not come as a surprise. Seeing to his training with Lachlan and introducing him to his kin here was one thing. Battling with a sword was not something they’d talked about and yet it must be part of the life of a warrior. Inhaling and letting it out, she turned to walk away and found Lachlan standing still at the fence now.
‘Sometimes, when I see them like that, it brings back memories of another lad,’ he said softly. ‘Davidh and Malcolm were of the same age. But ye would not ken that one.’
Anna could not breathe then. Although some in the village and keep had mentioned the family rese
mblance, none had made a connection between her son and Malcolm...not yet. In the week since their marriage, Anna had learned about the dangers facing the clan now and understood that revealing her son’s identity at this time would add to the danger.
She did not wish to weaken or destroy his father’s clan, she only wanted him to have a claim to its leadership. And knowing these people as she did now, Anna did not want to endanger them by adding to the uncertainty that flourished as the attacks and damage did. So, she had quieted the growing guilt and impatience within her and bided her time, allowing Iain to become acquainted with more of his kin.
And Davidh had not pressed her for an answer. He’d not even asked again after that one time before their wedding a sennight ago. When she’d not given him a name, he’d let it pass. Sighing, she realised that others here who’d known Malcolm would begin to see the resemblance—if not now, then with each passing day as he grew into the size and appearance of his late father.
For now though...
‘Who did you say was injured?’ she asked. Then she stepped away, heading towards the stables and forcing Lachlan to follow along or allow one of his lads to suffer while they delayed.
‘Martyn,’ Lachlan said as he rushed to catch up with her. ‘That willna be a problem for ye, will it, lass?’
‘The lad who fought with Iain?’
‘Aye, just so,’ Lachlan said. He glanced at her and when she shook her head, he pointed to the stables.
Anna found the boy in good spirits considering the bloody gash and bruises on his leg. It took little time to clean and dress the tear. Her attention was divided between the boy who was quite proud of the bandage and Lachlan who yet stared off at Davidh and Iain working together in the yard.
Lachlan was not the only one who would see it. She thought Parlan suspected something, from his hooded gaze and intense study of Iain’s face. Now that Iain was Davidh’s stepson and they were seen together more often, it was but a matter of time before others remarked on it.
Before Davidh pressed the question to her. Before the time he asked and did not allow her to ignore it. Oh, she had to find a way to tell him that Malcolm was Iain’s father, she just did not want to see the disappointment and betrayal in Davidh’s gaze when he found out.
* * *
With each passing day, she enjoyed this unexpected life more. As Davidh’s wife, she found herself drawn closer to the laird and lady. Her opinion was sought and seemed to matter. Those in the village who’d begun shunning her now found themselves in peril for doing so.
The best part of this for her was the man himself.
Davidh hesitated not one bit from any of his promises—he took Iain in hand and her son embraced and was embraced by all those who knew Davidh. No longer the outsider here, being the commander’s stepson brought Iain more fully in contact with his kith and kin.
His vows to her as husband also gave her a part of him that she’d not expected—the caring and respect and appreciation that she’d witnessed in so few. Being the one he regarded, Anna discovered a fuller, deeper feeling than the love she’d felt for Malcolm. That had been, as her mother had tried to warn her, the passion of a first love with none of the reality of life. This, this was more than she could have ever wanted and she damned herself a fool for it.
Unless she gave up her own promise made on Malcolm’s eternal soul to claim Iain’s birthright, she would lose all of this when she spoke the truth. For now, though, Anna allowed herself this respite from all of that and simply lived this life. Loving and beloved, mother, wife, healer. And she moved through her days, holding her breath, not relaxing completely, waiting for signs that it would all be over soon.
When the beginning of the end came, Anna was too wrapped up in her new life to recognise it. It began with a stranger and an angry, wrathful woman and important visitors to Achnacarry.
* * *
Davidh waited on the steps of his house and watched Anna walk down the lane towards him. Colm tagged along at her side, chattering constantly to her, as they approached. Only the growing pallor in his son’s face dampened his joy.
Anna had told him that Colm was growing worse and he could see it there. No longer did the healthy blush of a growing boy colour his cheeks. He could not run as much as he had just weeks before. And the coughing had returned. Though Colm seemed oblivious to the changes, Davidh saw every one of them. As he knew Anna did.
They had not caught sight of him when Lilias walked across their path, blocking them. Anna tucked Colm behind her in a protective move that told him Lilias’s words were disturbing...or insulting in some way. He’d walked several paces before realising it, moving towards them. Iain rounded the corner then and reached his mother and Colm and the lad took Anna in hand and pushed them by Lilias who would not relent in whatever she had to say. He did not know what made him look over, but something flickered to the side and he turned to see a man standing in Lilias’s doorway.
It took him a moment or two until he recognised him—Lilias’s brother Ailbert. He’d not seen the man in the village or on Cameron lands for some time. Davidh slowed and stared at the man, trying to bring to mind when exactly he had been here last. As Ailbert watched his sister and Anna, the man suddenly startled at the sight of Iain. He stared at the boy and his mouth moved in some silent word before he noticed Davidh there. Ailbert then stepped back inside and closed the door before Davidh could speak.
Torn between seeing to Anna and the lads or seeking out Ailbert, Davidh strode to them as Lilias ran off to her own cottage.
‘What happened?’ he asked as he scooped Colm into his arms to carry him the rest of the way. That his son did not argue only confirmed Davidh’s suspicions over his worsening condition.
‘Lilias is still angry,’ Anna said. Then she shook her head and nodded to the house. ‘We can speak on it once we are inside.’
Davidh did not wait to speak to Iain. He let Anna go ahead and then nodded at the lad. ‘You did well then, Iain. Keeping your mother from harm.’
As Davidh closed the door behind them and dropped the latch, Ailbert’s presence, or rather his recent absence, plagued his thoughts. How long had he been gone was but one question that occurred to him. The other, more complex, one was what had he been doing and why had he returned now?
Anna lifted the ever-present pot of steaming water from the hearth and carried it to the table. As he sat Colm there, she gathered the usual ingredients for the treatment. He did this one twice each day. Then she would have him sip a potion which Davidh was not certain he could drink without complaining. Lastly, before he went to bed, she would rub on a poultice to ease his breathing through the night. A sense of fear pierced his heart as he waited for his son to begin breathing in the medicinal fumes and then he could speak to Anna about Lilias.
Not the boy, not my son.
The chant or prayer began again, begging God for mercy. With Anna’s arrival and the success of her initial attentions to Colm, he’d thought he’d received the answer to his prayers. Now, though, it would seem the improvement was just a temporary reprieve and the words returned many, many times each day. Davidh almost wished that he’d never allowed hope back into his heart over his son. He almost wished Anna had never tried, if it meant that his son’s suffering had just been prolonged.
Then, he met Anna’s glance and knew his thoughts for the lie they were. He had treasured every moment that her treatments had given to Colm. Every moment he’d gained with Colm was priceless. And Anna’s arrival had brought joy back to his life. He could not be sorry for that either.
She’d brought love back into his life.
Anna walked to his side now and slipped her hand in his. Her son noticed and found some chore to do that took him back outside. A perceptive lad.
‘We will fight this.’ Her voice was soft, but her tone was firm with conviction and promise. We. He liked having her on his, their,
side. ‘Lady Elizabeth said one of the healer brothers should arrive here on the morrow or day after. I will speak to him.’ Davidh lifted their hands and kissed the back of hers.
‘Aye, we will fight this.’ Davidh released her so she could go back to his son. ‘And we will fight the other—if you but give the word.’
He had offered to see to Lilias’s disrespect of both Anna and her son in a more specific way, but Anna had refused to have the woman banished to one of their other holdings. This latest behaviour coupled with the reappearance of her brother gave Davidh pause and he suspected that punishments, sharp and punitive, would be needed soon to curb the woman’s vicious tongue and angry actions.
Strange, but Ailbert’s return bothered him more in this moment than the malicious words of his sister. He would speak to Parlan and Athdar about the man and seek out more about his whereabouts over the last months. In his gut, he knew that Ailbert was tied to the outlaws and the attacks, and his boldness in showing his face spoke of something coming. For now, though, he turned back to Anna.
‘What did Lilias say to you in the street just now?’
‘Davidh, worry not over that woman and her words.’
‘I worry. I saw the way she threatened you and Colm.’ Davidh shook his head. ‘I will see to her, if you give the word. She will not insult you again.’
Once more, she walked to his side and touched him. Her ease with him, never hesitating to caress him and stand close or accept his attentions and affection, surprised him when it should not. Her passionate nature was there in everything she did or said...or touched. Whether practising her healing skills or seeing to his needs, Anna had taken to married life with the same zeal as everything else she did. For a woman so unfamiliar and almost resistant to married life, she had an affinity to it. Well, as he watched her gaze move back to his son even while they were speaking, at the core of it was that she cared.
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